Instant noodles are produced by gelatinizing cut raw noodle strings and then drying the noodle strings by frying, hot-air drying, freeze dry, or the like. The instant noodles can be reconstituted (reconstituted in boiling water) and easily eaten only by pouring boiling water and leaving the noodles for about three to five minutes or by boiling and cooking the noodles for about one to three minutes. Thus, the instant noodles are extremely convenient instant foods.
However, thick noodle strings are not easily reconstituted. The thick noodle strings are not reconstituted only by pouring the boiling water and leaving the noodle strings for about three to five minutes, and cores of the noodle strings remain uncooked in some cases. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the noodle.
On this account, even in the case of thick noodle products, the thickness of the noodle after the reconstitution is about 1.4 mm at most, and the shape thereof is a flat noodle shape. Thus, he/she cannot fully enjoy the smooth feeling of noodles passing through his/her throat. Here, there is a need for a technology of being able to reconstitute thicker noodles in boiling water.
In addition, if the reconstitution property of thin noodles is improved, the wait time before eating can be further shortened. A technology of improving the reconstitution is extremely useful for the instant noodles.
Instant noodles producing methods relevant to the present invention are disclosed in PTLs 1 to 3.